Playing-ball.



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milling 2 3 UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, or-BosToN, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO THE KEMPs -ALL MANUFACT URING'COMP'AN Y, A ooRPoRATIoN- or new JERSEY. a

sienctrioairronromin part ofLettcrs Patent No. eeaose, dated Apri1'29,'1,9 O2.

Application filedMarch'Zfi, 1902. Serial No. 99,930. on; mtd'eia' fication, Figure 1 shows the parts of a ball placed ina telescoping die. Fig. 2 isa .perspective View representing the die members.

Fig. 3 i'sja View similar to Fig. :1, but'repre-I sents a later stage in the processot' manufacturingthe ball.

' ket or envelop of fibrous material inclosing said core or filling.

6 operations, and Fig.1 9 is a part-sectional View illustrating a completed ball constructed w preferably of'celluloid, is generally harder than that of the fillingand is also relatively stiff, While the filling is preferably, though not essentially, relatively soft and maypossess elasticity. The material of the shell may be rendered plastic in anysuitable way,as by means of heat, and such material may subsequently be converted .to ahardened condition, as by means of-cold','while the filling is of suitable material, preferably Well-vulcanized soft rubber, which is not injuriously Figs. 5, (Land 7arefrag1nen tary sectional views drawn upon a largerscaleto illustrate the action of the dies upon. the 'shelland the core or=fillin g andthe blan- Fig. 8 illustrates a stage in the process between the Fig. 5 and'theFig'.'

affected or changed in] "cond'itionby adegree of heat requiredto reduce the shell to a plastic condition. The coreoi' filling 22 may first be formed of the requiredsizeand shape by means of suitable dies and presses and is too large or bulky for the capacity of the finished shell. The latter is also-by preference previously formed in any suitable Way, so that said shell and filling may be properly assem- 6o bled between the upper and lower telescopic heating and compressing dies 23 and 2a. (Indicated at Fig. 1.) The hemispherical, segments 20 and 21 of fabric-lined celluloid may bysteam' or otherwise for bringing the cellube treated or put in'propereon'dition for the 6 loid into suitable condition and consistency for unionin completing'the shell'of the ball. The inner surfaces'of the celluloid shell-segments'and the layers of fabric are interlocked, or, in other Words, the fabric 'is embedded in the celluloid.

The abutting edges of the hemispherical segments 20 and 21 are made somewhatfull at A, Whereby'when said edges meet the shell is oversize and the core or filling 22, combined with its inclosing envelop of fibrous ma- 8o terial, may 'be'largeenough to whollyfill the interiorjof the shell when olf'just before said edges of the segmentsZQ and, 2;11are brought together, as illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 8. Upon the'closingactiono'f the dies the core or fillingf22, thelenvelop s'eg'ments of fibrous material, and the'shellisegments of celluloid are all compressed-together,and the material of the shell, which isrendered plastic, preferably by heating, is squeezed out between the approaching steps B and O of the dies, as at D, Fig. 3,.jcompletely, filling said steps. It will be seen that said material is urged outwardly, .not only by the forcing action'of the diesdirectlyupon the shell itself, 5

but also by reason of the compressionof the core or filling 22, which tendsalsoto'expa'nd and force the material of the shell edges outwardly. Preferably the edges are brought together or into contact before much, if any, compression of the core is effected, so as to avoid undue squeezing of the rubber outshell, as at 25.

wardl y between said edges. The material of the inner member of the telescoping die at the edge portion thereof is thin, and the annular open space surrounding the ball-shell at Fig. Sis preferably thinner than said shell, so as to prevent too much outflow of shell material. Upon further closing of the dies the shell material at D, being unable to escape between the closely-fitting die-sections, is forced or squeezed by the approaching steps back toward the interior of the ball, forming an annular welt upon the inner surface of the Since the material of the shell is preferably capable of welding, the process herein set forth produces a reinforced weld-that is, a weld of extra thicknesssince the welt 25 is formed directly in line with the point at which the welding takes place. In other words, the abutting edges of the shellsegments are lipped or given an extra width, thus forming a stronger joint. Moreover, the kneading of the material of the shells from the stage indicated atFig. 8 to thatindicated at Fig. 4 has a beneficial eifect upon the weld, causing the material of the segments to knit firmly. After the shells meet, as shown in Fig. 8, the edges thereof tend to break down and flow outwardly, until finally the space between the die edges B and 0 becomes filled with material which has been so dislodged or broken away, breaking up and destroying the continuity of the edges of the shell, causing an intermingling or mixing of the edge portions of the two half shells or hemispheres, with the result of producing an integrality of the entire shell of the ball. It will be observed that the process of breaking down the edges of the shell, whereby some of the material driven outward, is reversed by the further advance of the dies or molds toward each other, whereby the said outflowing material flows back into the shell itself, thus restoring to its approximately original position that portion of the substance of the shell first subjected to the outward flow. Thus by first forcing the material outward and then reversing the action and forcing the material inwardly the two half-shells become a complete perfectly-welded shell. By the movement of the. dies the core or filling is reduced in bulk, and the welt 25, by its pinching or creasing -action, serves to give extra compression to the filling, thus rendering the ball highly desirable for certain games. The welt also serves to anchor the filling and its envelop to the shell, thus reducing the liability to disruption of the latter under impact of an implement.

In case heating-dies are used they may be allowed to cool before the ball is taken out, so that the shell may become sufliciently harden ed. In practice the balls made by the present process are found to have a high degree of uniformity, and by reason of. the dense and uniform character of the material in the different parts of the completed shell the ball is enabled to withstand the heavy blows to which it is subjected with substantial equality wherever it may be struck. The original half-shells may be made very dense or comact. p Variations may be resorted to within the scope of my invention, and portions of my present improvements may be used without others.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a playing-ball, the combination of a shell consisting wholly of two layers, one of said layers consisting of fabric and the other thereof being relatively massive and consistin g of celluloid in which said fabric is embedded, and a springy core filling said shell.

2. A playing-ball comprising a coreof solid elastic material and ash'ell strongly gripping said core; said shell consisting wholly of two layers, of which one iswoven fabric and'the other is relatively massive and consists of celluloid, the fabric being embedded in the inner side of the celluloid layer.

3. A playing-ball comprising a sphere of welded segments; each of said segments consisting wholly of .two layers, whereof one is fabric and the other is celluloid, the fabric being embedded in the inner side of the celluloid layer.

4. A playing-hall comprisinga sphere of yielding. material and a shell'holdi'ng, said sphere under compression, said shell consist- "ing wholly of two layers, whereof the inner consists of woven fabric and the outer con- ELE'AZER KEMPSH ALL.

\Vitnesses:

B. C. STICKNEY, WM. H. DE LACY.

soft rubber and a shell thereon consisting of 

